The three hundredth anniversary of the birth of English journalism was commemorated in England last month by the publication of a Tercentenary Handlist of English and Welsh newspapers, magazines and reviews by Mr. J.G. Muddiman, a direct descendant of the founder of the London Gazette, one of the oldest of English newspapers. The occasion was also availed of by Lord NorthCliffe to make a profitable survey, in the London Times, of the past, present and future of journalism. Satisfying the ordinary craving of human nature, for news, literature, and controversy, journalism has, in spite of State oppression and satirical decisions, come to fulfil an almost indispensable function in modern life. As an effective instrument of popular education and political control it has also been one of the potent factors that have directly contributed to the progress of modern civilisation.
